Defra approves GM potato trials
The government has approved trials of GM crops in England, the first since controversial field scale trials were completed three years ago.
Chemical firm BASF has been granted the right to test a genetically modified potato that is resistant to blight, a disease which can destroy crops and led to the Irish potato famine in the 19th century.
The trials will take place in Derbyshire and Cambridge starting next year and will test the effectiveness of the GM potato, which is spliced with a gene taken from Mexican potatoes, against UK strains of the disease.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) insisted the trials would be subject to strict conditions and said it was satisfied that they would “not result in any adverse effect on human health or the environment”.
However, environmental group Friends of the Earth (FoE) said they posed a “significant contamination threat” to future potato crops and that there was no need for GM potatoes and no public demand for them.
“Even the county council and the food industry have raised concerns about the impact of these trials. The government should promote safe and sustainable agriculture, not this half-baked GM potato plan,” said GM campaigner Clare Oxborrow.
Shadow environment secretary Peter Ainsworth said: “We are not opposed to the trials in principle. However, we expect the strictest of controls to be put in place.
“BASF must guarantee that no cross-contamination will take place between their GM trials and non-GM crops. Given that the public shows no appetite at all for GM food, this trial seems somewhat academic.”
Today’s approval has been granted on the advice of an independent expert group, the advisory committee of releases to the environment, and it has come up with a number of conditions BASF must comply with to allow the trials to go ahead.
These will ensure that GM material does not persist at the trial sites, and that the harvested GM potatoes will not be used for food or animal feed, a spokesman said.
Environment minister Ian Pearson said: “Our top priority on this issue remains protecting consumers and the environment, and a rigorous independent assessment has concluded that these trials do not give rise to any safety concerns.
“Based on the independent advice we have received, appropriate conditions have been specified for the conduct of the trials, and our GM inspectorate will ensure that these are met.”
Following a number of four-year trials with GM maize, beet and oilseed rape, the government announced that there would be no blanket ban on GM crops in the UK. However, every application must be assessed on a case by case basis.
